I will honestly say I was quite impressed with the handling and road manners of the Altima SE-R. I would put its handling just a half notch under my Mazda6 (the car was less nimble in tight maneuvers). All of the many Buick-like tendencies of the Altima SE are exorcised like the evil demons they are.
The 2005 interior is vastly improved over earlier years, though I could not fit in one. With the driver's seat as low as it could possibly go (the sales guy even helped me try to make it lower), my head was firmly pressed against the headliner.
The difference is that in the SVT and the 6, my head is in the cutout where the sunshade is. On the Altima, my head is outside of the cutout. This reduces head room significantly.
